#BringBackOurGirls

By: Julie Lovelace

“Education empowers girls to raise their voices, to unlock their potential, and to demand change.” – Malala Fund.

On 15 April 2014, 273 school girls aged 16-18 were kidnapped from the Chibok Government Secondary School in Nigeria by members of the militant Islamist group, Boko Haram. Approximately 230 girls are still missing. Only 5% of northern Nigerian girls make it to secondary school. The abducted girls were preparing to graduate, destined to further their studies and impact their communities.

In #BringBackOurGirls mass-produced consumer objects that hold nostalgic and stereotypical associations of an idealised childhood are subverted and used to challenge the audience. The artist’s unsanctioned public art intervention will encourage explorations into the dynamics of the space it inhabits: questioning our manner of living together, reflecting on conditions and ultimately producing new awareness.